After 18 rounds of games the North American League Championship Series (LCS) spring split regular season is over. And the first place team dominated the competition while well-established names struggled to make an impact.
Like the European LCS, which ended on Friday, the first place team in NA is probably not who you’d expect. Team Immortals almost lived up to their name, with a 17-1 record. Top laner Heo “Huni” Seung-hoon and jungler Kim “Reignover” Yeu-jin have now lost only one regular season game in an entire year of playing the LCS. The 17-1 record secured them the number one spot long ago, and they don’t look like they’ll slow down heading into the playoffs.
Securing second place was Counter Logic Gaming, who consistently performed well all split after changing their AD Carry and mid laner in the off-season.
Brand names Cloud9 and Team SoloMid couldn’t crack the top two despite big money moves in the off-season. SoloMid brought in four new members, including European legend Bora “YellOwStaR” Kim and North American veteran Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng, however they were not enough and the team was only able to secure sixth. Cloud9 took the top seed for the quarter finals. Team Liquid unsurprisingly finished in fourth place, and big spenders NRG had to settle for fifth.
Cloud9 battling TSM for the title is reminiscent of the past. Now we’ll see them battle it out in the very first round of the playoffs. On the other side of the bracket, NRG and Team Liquid will go head-to-head. The lowest remaining seed will be forced to fight for their playoff lives against Immortals, while the higher seed will face the much more appealing matchup of CLG. Meanwhile, Henrik “Froggen” Hansen secures his third seventh place finish in a row with his team Echo Fox, securing their spot in the summer split.
It was Team Dignitas who suffered the consequences of the Renegades roster changes towards the end of the season. Owner Chris “Montecristo” Mykles would be proud of the roster rotation that pulled his team out last place. They’ll still be facing the relegation tournament, but now in a much better seed than last place. Team Dignitas finish bottom of the standings, while Team Impulse will join the two in the LCS relegation tournament.
Team Dignitas will go against Team Dragon Knights in a do-or-die match, with the loser missing out on a spot in the summer split. The winner will move forward to the double elimination bracket and try to secure an LCS spot against Renegades. On the other side, Team Impulse and Challenger Series winners Apex will fight to secure a spot.
Photo via Riot Games/Flickr | Remix by Saira Mueller
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